Gather the Wheat into My Barn

Mt 13:24-43 or 13:24-30

Evil thrives where there are human beings. We look around us and see senseless killings, violence perpetrated against women and children, greed and corruption. Well meaning Christians ask: Why are these things happening to us? Why does God allow so much evil to thrive in the world?

We really don't know the answer. Maybe evil is part of God's salvific plan. But we know this much is true: God doesn't want evil. He does not cause it. He is appalled by it and would not tolerate it. He allows evil to co-exist with the good because the time is not yet right. Some people do evil things but they are not really evil. They are victims and pawns of evil schemes. God does not want to get rid of people who might turn good given the time and opportunity to do so.

God so loves us that even in our sinfulness, He is slow to anger and slow to condemn us. God gives not only second or third chances. He in fact delights in our returning to Him over and over again. In the same way that no wise farmer would uproot all the weeds in his garden for fear that he might be killing his own wheat, God patiently waits for the right time. And when that time comes, when it is easier to spot the wheat from the weeds, He will act accordingly. The weeds are effectively pulled out, gathered together and thrown into a furnace while the wheat are carefully harvested and brought into His barn.

So will He do when the time comes to judge evil persons from the good ones. God will pick out from the brambles His true wheat and separate them from the weeds that tried to choke them. God will then carry in His own arms the wheat that thrived amongst the weeds. And as a reward, the true wheat will be presented in the Heavenly Banquet.

Weeds thrive around us. People look down on us. People berate us, do malicious things behind our backs. Some people even deliberately cause us harm through unkind thoughts and words. In all of these, we are asked to be patient like the wheat. In due time, God Himself will carry us and bring us into his Barn.